Better this way
by just.an.avengers.fan
Summary: Clint and Natasha had agreed on something, they were not people who do relationships. They have managed to be "friends with benefits" for some time. But when an enemy from the past returns, they may realize that they cannot longer kept lying to themselves. Includes the participation of the rest of the Avengers. It is rated M, but I am not that explicit. Please leave a review.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, it's me again. This is a story I made up while watching White Collar. I know I still have another story on going and a sequel coming soon, but I needed to write this. For those who have read my other story now completed **_**From the very beginning**_**, this is an alternative universe to that story in which Clint and Natasha are something like friends with benefits, not a real couple as in the other one (But they will share some background and OC). I hope you enjoy the first chapter.**

Natasha and Clint woke up planning on spending the morning there, together. At least that was the plan.

"Clint, hey where are you man?" They heard Tony's voice at the living room of the apartment. Thank God the door was closed. Tony would have made a huge deal if he saw them together in bed. It's not that they were ashamed of their "relationship", but Tony was not the kind of guy who kept secrets. And with SHIELD's regulations and gossip, this would be a huge scandal. Not just because they were together but because their relationship were purely about sex (at least that's what they agreed) and that kind of relationship is not well seen for many people. Even when everyone knew or at least suspected of their relationship, they had to keep it quiet in front of the high ranks.

"Go, before he gets in here" Natasha told him interrupting their make out session in bed. Clint put some pants and a shirt.

"I'll be right back." He said kissing her quickly and left the room.

"How did you get in?" Clint asked Stark.

"Your porter let me in. So are we going..." he stop talking when he saw Natasha getting out of the bedroom. She was wearing a red robe.

"Hey, Stark"

"Natasha! You're here" Stark said surprised and speechless. She passed them walking to the kitchen for some coffee.

"Yep" she said pouring the coffee on the cup.

"I'm going..." Clint said to return to the conversation.

"Yeah, I was thinking we could go grab a beer" Stark continued.

"Finally, for a moment I thought we'll never reach the floor." Steve said entering with Thor and Bruce. "Natasha, what are you doing here? Clint called you?"

"Yeah, but since yesterday." Stark joked. Clint and Natasha looked at him very serious. Steve made an estranged face.

"Seriously. How can you not understand what's going on here?" Clint said. They smiled embarrassed looking at Natasha.

"Fury asked me to stay in NY for a while and since I don't have my apartment anymore I'm staying here." She explained while they all look at her. "Well, this is too awkward...I'm gonna go get dressed. See you" she took her cup and return to the bedroom.

"Sorry" Steve said.

"No, it's ok. I have work to do." She said and entered the room.

"So...grab a beer at nine in the morning?" Clint repeated to focus the other four men who were still shocked.

"Yeah and go to the tower and do whatever. We can get Thor to know more about movies." Tony said.

"And you had to come? A single call would be the same." Clint said.

"We were near. So what do you say?" Tony justified.

"Yeah, sure. I just need to get dressed." He said and went back to the room.

"Don't waste time, we're in the other room" Stark joked once more. The four gentlemen didn't say anything about what they saw. They weren't really shocked that Natasha and Clint were together, but they didn't know how serious that was.

"Hey, bye guys" Natasha got out from the room a couple of minutes later dressed on a pair of thigh pants and a gray blouse.

"You're going to Shield?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, Fury sent a message." She said checking her phone. "Well, see you later" she said and left the room. 

The guys went to Stark's and began talking. Of course the main topic was Clint and Natasha.

"So, you and Natasha are together or what?" Steve started the conversation now that everyone was sitting in the living room.

"I'm not sure exactly." Clint answered while drinking his beer.

"You don't know?" Bruce asked surprised. "How long have you been like this?"

"I don't know, like several months, maybe more"

"What? Are you kidding me?" Steve reacted.

"Well we're always working. It makes things easier this way."

"Oh my God, I don't believe it. That's what she told you?" Tony asked.

"No, that's what I told her." He said leaving everyone amazed. "I mean, we kind of try or something years ago but it got too complicate and with SHIELD's regulations...we decided to call it off. I told her that it would be better if we just stay as friends and partners at work. But after New York, we talked and agreed that maybe we are not the kind of people who do relationships but we can see each other and we avoid many things." Everyone looked astonished to Clint.

"Oh man, that's pathetic. Just friends, that's the worst idea ever. Besides, who are you kidding? I bet even Fury knows about this and would prefer if you just be in a normal relationship." Tony told her and judging by the others faces they agreed.

"Yeah, said the guy who waited years before telling his assistant that he loved her after he almost die." Clint said.

"Better late than never." Tony replied

After changing the conversation and beginning to do something else, they were passing a good afternoon.

"How are you winning if you have never played?" Clint asked Thor. They were playing some fighting video game. Steve was watching them playing and eating some chips.

"Hold on" Clint said and left the control to grab his phone. Natasha's pictured light up.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you?" Tony reached the phone first and answered.

_"Tony, put Clint on the phone" _she demanded.

"I'll pass him the message."

_"Stark, seriously. This is important."_ Tony understood that that was not a social call. He gave the phone to Clint.

"Hey, what's up?" Clint said.

_"You think you can come to the quarters. Something came up."_

"Yeah sure I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye." He said hanging up.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know, probably some mission. I gotta go." Clint said and quickly grabbed his things and left leaving the rest of the guys confused.

**Alright, so what do you think? If I get positive reviews, I'll continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok guys, thank you for your positive reviews. So as I promised here is a new chapter. Little by little we'll discover Natasha and Clint's background since they met.**

"Hey" Clint said to Natasha entering to the room where she was working.

"Hey!" Natasha said with a worried tone. Clint sat next to her.

"So what's going on?" Clint asked.

"Yeah...we may have a problem...like a big big problem" Natasha started explaining. "I was checking on some files for a mission in Warsaw and this appeared." She said showing a photo on her computer. Clint was astonished; he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"When was this taken?" He said still confused.

"A couple of days ago. The photo is original; it hasn't been altered at all." She said biting her nails.

"Wait...but, how can this be possible...we kill him!" Clint said more confused than ever.

"Apparently, we didn't. I don't know how he survived." She said.

"We need to talk to Fury" Clint said.

"Save it Barton, I know about Komarov. You think I assigned you to this mission randomly." Fury said appearing from nowhere. "Imagine my surprise when I saw a man who was supposed to be killed by you two." He continued while the agents just looked at him.

"Sir, seriously we thought that too. We shot him THREE TIMES! There was no one else there. We saw him lying..." Natasha tried to explain even though she had no clue what was going on.

"I'm aware of that; I've already checked your reports. Still it looks like he's very alive."

"The Council knows about this?" Clint asked.

"They'll have to. But I wouldn't worry about them as much as where is Komarov and what does he want."

"We only have that photo." Natasha pointed out.

"I know that's why I'm just warning you. You need to be careful."

"Yes sir." Clint said.

"You're dismissed." Fury said and both agents left the room. Fury wasn't going to let it show but he was really concern about those two. Natasha and Clint left the room. Both of them were confused and angry at the same time.

"Damn cockroach! Why didn't he die?" Natasha said as soon as they reach a more or less private place in the base.

"I don't know" Clint said not knowing what else to say. Natasha breathed strongly trying to relax. "Hey" Clint said getting closer touching her arm to comfort her. He wanted to hug her and tell her that it was going to be ok but just couldn't, not there. Natasha calmed down and decided to go back to the apartment to talk better.

_-Flashback-_

_Saint Petersburg, Russia. 2006_

_Barton had just arrived to Saint Petersburg a few hours ago. Director Fury had given him one of the most important missions ever: eliminate the Black Widow. He had been studied her for a few weeks and thought he could get her easily. But this wasn't a normal elimination mission. SHIELD knew that the Widow was working for a man named Viktor Komarov. He was one of the most famous mafia guys in Russia. Fury decided to send Clint undercover instead of just killing her. He thought that maybe they can get information about Komarov or even caught him with the Black Widow._

_Barton was going to infiltrate into Komarov's men team acting as a professional that will help them to do "business". With his perfect Russian, there shouldn't have been any problem._

"_Mr. Zharkov" Komarov said receiving Clint in his house. The house was amazing, it was a mansion._

"_Mr. Komarov." Clint responded shaking hands with him._

"_So, I believe we could start with our business." Komarov said giving him a sign to pass to the living room where the rest of the men were waiting for them. Clint could have recognized at least five of the criminals with more reputation in there, between thieves, dealers and killers._

"_Guys, this is Alexander Zharkov. He will be helping us." Komarov introduced him._

"_What does he do?" One of the guys asked. He was Sergei Volkov, a weapons dealer known all over Eastern Europe._

"_I've done works for the mafia for a while, before that I was an analyst for the government until they accused me for selling information."_

"_Hmm…nice." Sergei replied. "Does Natasha know about him?" He asked Komarov._

"_She'll be here any minute." He answered._

"_She's not going to like it, you know how she is." Sergei said._

"_That's her problem. I'm the boss here." Komarov said and left the room._

_Sergei laughed. "Sorry, when you met her you'll see what I mean. She doesn't like anyone and she's always fighting with Komarov."_

"_Then why is she still here?" Clint asked acting like if he had no idea of whom she was. He also wanted to know how other people see her._

"_You haven't heard of the Black Widow?" Asked another man, he was Mikhail Pavlov, a well-known "merchant"._

"_Oh, so that's her." Clint said. Everyone in the criminal community knew about her. She was the Black Widow, that's not a title people ignore._

"_Yeah, that and the fact that Komarov have been wanting to sleep with her since he met her." Sergei said. "Although I don't blame him, anyone would want to." The guys started to talk about her._

"_You think I haven't tried? She just won't open her legs." Said one of them in reply to one of the comments some other made. They discussed for a while more. Clint was just listening to them until they heard someone clearing her throat, Natasha._

"_Widow!" Sergei reacted. Natasha didn't say anything, just looked at the guys._

"_Ah, great you're here." Komarov said referring to Natasha._

"_This is Alexander Zharkov. He'll be working with us for a while." Komarov said and Natasha took a look at Clint._

"_That's why you called?" __Natasha asked._

"_Since you'll be working for a while, I thought you''ll want to meet each other." He told her. "This is Natasha Romanova." He introduced her._

_"Hey"_

_"Hey" They both said. Clint was surprised, he had heard about her, but he didn't expected that. He obviously expected her to be beautiful and everything but as soon as she steps in the room, it could be felt her strong character and presence. Natasha on the other side was not very happy when a new guy got in, she didn't trust a lot of people. But she had to admit the sight wasn't bad after all. She had never heard of him which made her doubt more._

_-End of flashback-_

**Ok, I know it's a short chapter but at least I got the time to write something.**

**What do you think will happen? **

**You'll know more about their past in the next chapters.**

**Thanks for your reviews, follows and favorites. I hope I get more of those.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter! Thank you all of you who have followed and favorite the story, I wish I could read your comments on the story.**

Days later, Natasha and Clint woke up and got ready to go to work. They wanted to keep investigating what the hell happened that night where Komarov apparently died. Clint couldn't sleep thinking what did they missed. It was supposed to be ok, they had Komarov just where they wanted, and there was nowhere he could escape. Natasha made him believe that he caught her and was taking her somewhere to kill her but Clint was behind them and shot him three times in the chest. His body fell and when Natasha checked him, he had no pulse. Natasha on her side wasn't better, she was also worried.

"Ok, let's go. Hope the Council doesn't know yet" Natasha said putting the dishes on the sink.

"Yeah...agg! He sounded angry.

"What? Migraine?" Natasha asked. She knew that one mission Barton had a mission that resulted on the explosion of a grenade. The hit left him deaf for a couple of months until he was fully-recovered. However, he started suffering of horrible migraines every now and then. SHIELD treated him with the best he could have received just because they couldn't lose an agent who worth millions.

"Yeah, I'll just go for the pills. It's just a headache." Clint said and Natasha just nodded. She grabbed her things and opened the door. Clint then joined her and went together back to the quarters.

"Hey, Barton" A well-known voice called him while he was walking to the conference room. Officially it was supposed that they were not working or searching for information about Komarov because as long as the Council knew he was dead.

"Hey, how's everything?" Barton answered. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked as he saw Stark and Banner

"Ahh you know talking with Fury." Stark said following him and sitting on the table. The room was full of screen and sophisticated technology that he will use to track Komarov.

"You're planning on staying here?" Clint asked.

"I have nothing to do today and you?" Tony turned to Banner.

"I'm just waiting for a friend to arrive, he's a scientist should be helping me in a project." Banner answered.

"Yeah, but back to you, how are things with Natasha?" Tony asked and Banner just rolled his eyes looking at Clint.

"I don't know, what do you want me to tell?" Clint answered.

"Stark, leave it" Banner said.

"Whatever, but you keep denying the obvious and things will go wrong sooner or later." Tony said. Clint was going to reply but Natasha knocked the glass door holding her laptop. She made a sign for Clint to go with her and smiled at Stark and Banner. Clint got out of the room and stayed talking with Natasha allowing Stark and Banner to see them. They could not hear what they were talking about but noticing their body language and expressions they were not happy. Natasha was showing Barton something in the laptop explaining him. They look worried, angry and frustrated and at some point they seemed to be arguing. Then Steve entered the room from another door and sat with the guys.

"What are we looking at?" Steve asked.

"Something's wrong" Stark said still looking at Clint and Natasha.

"You know what's going on Cap?" Banner asked.

"Probably has to do with something I heard that some guy is alive when they were supposed to kill him." Steve said.

"What?" Stark reacted.

"Yeah, it must be a pretty good deal that guy to have them like that" Steve said. After a few more minutes of talking, Clint received a message and left Natasha who entered the room.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She said.

"Everything ok?" Steve asked.

"No, no nothing is right" She said in a low voice looking at her computer.

"Anything we can help with?" Bruce asked.

"Thanks guys, but this is something we need to solve just Clint and me." She answered. "It's kind of personal"

"How personal?" Steve asked.

"This personal." Clint entered the room. He took the computer and showed on the screen dozens of photos of Natasha and him. He had been following them since they started working together. There were photos from Russia, Europe, everywhere they've been even the day where Loki and Thor left New York. It was all there. Natasha looked at the photos speechless, how they could have missed all of that. It was supposed they were the best agents, how could they have not noticed someone following them.

"Oh wow" Stark exclaimed. They were as surprised as Clint and Natasha.

"Who give you this?" Natasha asked.

"Komarov sent it."

"What? He sent you this?" Natasha asked. "Why?"

"He wants us to know that he is looking at us." Clint answered. Just as they kept looking at the photos Clint received a new message:

_Agent Barton, did my photos bring you old memories? Let me share with you some more._

The message was from Komarov again and Clint could read his cynic tone. He opened a carpet and more photos appeared. But this time the photos were not just about them being in a cafeteria or a bar or walking, the photos were taken when they were together in hotel rooms or at their houses. Clint looked at them and tried not to make a freaking look.

"Nat" He called her and showed her the photos, the look on Natasha's face describe it all. It was a look of anger and fear at the same time. Fear because Komarov could make public those photos just to screw them.

"Who got this too?" Natasha asked worried.

"I don't know...Oh crap! Clint said when he discover who were the other recipients of the message showing it to Natasha.

"Kill me" Natasha said stunned.

"What is it guys?" Steve asked.

"Nothing everything is fine" Natasha said. "Just fine" she said and her phone rang. Natasha looked at the ID number and knew it wasn't a social call. Yet she answered it.

"Hello?" She said hesitantly. The guys couldn't understand what the other person was saying but it didn't hear ok. They knew it was a man who they assumed was talking in Russian. Natasha put away the phone a little annoyed by the loud screams that the man threw. She quickly shot a glance at Clint and went out of the room to continue talking. The guys were confused. Who would call and shout at her like that; it seemed like he knew whoever was at the other side of the phone. And why? Did it have to do why what Clint showed to her?

"Clint, do you know who called her?" Tony asked. They could see Natasha who was standing at a terrace. She looked very agitated arguing and stressed.

"It is probably Ivan; he's like Natasha's father." Clint answered.

"I thought Natasha lost her parents when she was little?" Bruce said.

"Yeah, but Petrovich rescue her and raised her. After she came to SHIELD, they started to talk again. They lost contact when she was at the Red Room."

"And why did he sound like that?" Steve asked.

Clint buried his face in his hands for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure." He was lying; he knew exactly why he called. They kept looking at her and realized Natasha started crying at some point, she was wiping her tears away. It wasn't ok. Barton was called by one of the agents and had to leave for a while. Natasha hung up and returned to the room with her eyes red.

"Hey guys" she entered with her face down. "Where's Clint?"

"Umm...some agent asked him to come." Tony said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, can you tell him that I had to go. I'll return tomorrow." She said and left leaving the guys more confused than ever.

About an hour and a half later, Natasha was in Clint's apartment finishing packing her things.

"Hey" Clint entered the room and noticed Natasha's bag.

"Hey, I thought you were going to stay the night at the quarters?" She said.

"The guys told me that you left and I wanted to make sure you were ok, you seemed very angry talking to Ivan." Clint said. Natasha didn't say anything she kept packing things.

"Nat" He grabbed her arm making her to face him. "It's going to be ok."

"No Clint, It's not going to be ok, cause even if we caught Komarov and kill him..." her voice started to break and a small tear went out. "It's not going to solve it."

"So you're leaving?"

"I need to be alone, I'll go to work tomorrow and keep working with you but I don't think it's a good idea that we keep doing this. I'll stay in a hotel." She said closing her bag and heading to the door.

"Wait, Nat, you don't have to do this." Clint tried to stop her.

"No, Clint. You say it's going to be ok, but you didn't have to hear Ivan shouting at you how a disgrace you are for your family; how deceived he was of you cause he thought that even when you were a spy and an assassin there was still some decency in you."

"Nat, I'm so sorry...I'll talk to him."

"See that's the thing, it's not just him. You're the man; if you sleep with me anytime, no one is going to judge you or look at you differently. I'm the one who they get to call "whore"; I'm the slut who is so easy that she got an agent into her bed and he decided not to kill her." Clint had to admit that she was right and the feeling was eating him. He wished that was a lie. "You know the funny thing is that I shouldn't care for what people talk about me, but it's harder when the people you love are the ones telling you that."

"So this is it?" He asked hopeless.

"I'm sorry. I just can't keep going with this." She said and kissed his cheek sweetly. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said and closed the door behind her. As soon as she reached her car, she couldn't hold it more and started crying. Maybe her relationship with Clint was not the most recommendable but at the end it was a relationship. When Clint broke up with her years ago, she felt heartbroken but accepted it. She thought she will never have a chance to be with him ever again. But now she had to leave him, even if that was killing her.

**OMG, that was pure drama. Sorry if I left you heartbroken but I have to do it. **

**Please let me know what you think of it. ****REVIEW please :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, again :)**

A few days later Clint and Natasha kept trying to work on Komarov's case. The tension could be cut with a knife around the room. They didn't talk about anything that was not about work. Clint decided to respect Natasha's decision and kept his distant but it wasn't easy.

"Ivan is here." Natasha said entering the room to warm Clint.

"What? Why?...Oh forget it." Clint said.

"I can't believe he's doing this. I'm 28 years old." Clint didn't answer but in the afternoon he went to talk to Ivan at his hotel room, of course without Natasha knowing.

.

.

.

"Agent Barton," Ivan said as he saw Clint standing at the door.

"Mr. Petrovich, I know I'm the last person you want to see..." Clint started.

"No, actually I was hoping we could talk." Ivan said letting him in.

Clint walked in just a few steps in front of the door. "Natasha is your daughter and you have the right be pissed about it, but she's capable of taking her own decisions; she's not a child anymore."

"Yeah you know a lot about that." Ivan said and Clint just looked ashamed. "Is that why you save her? So you can screw with her whenever you want?"

"Sir, when I met Natasha, she had no idea who I was or who I worked for. I was the one who knew everything about her. I was the agent who should have kept things professionally." Clint said. "And I didn't save her to sleep with her. You probably won't believe me but I respect Natasha. She's the most strong and smart woman I've ever met and my best friend. So if you want to blame someone, that's me." Ivan was actually very surprised with Clint's words. "You must know that after she arrived to SHIELD, we kind of tried to be in a relationship; but life as an agent brings you a lot of complications. I broke up with her because I didn't want to face problems that will cost us a lot.

"And your relationship with her now, that's the one that really functions?" Ivan replied.

"No, I hurt her once then and I did it again; and I'm sorry and I'm even sorrier that you have to know about our relationship through those photos. It wasn't right and I really understand you," Clint kept talking. "But seriously she's feeling really bad for whatever you told her and for what's happening. Komarov sent you those photos because he wants to hurt her; he could have sent them to everyone at SHIELD and ruin her reputation at work, probably got fired but he knows Natasha doesn't care about that as much as if you do this. You're very important for her and it's really not fair." Clint said and looked at the message he just received.

"I'm sorry but I have to go." He walked to the door.

'That was a very nice speech' Ivan thought. But most importantly he realized that what Clint said was true. "And if it helps you to be more relaxed, Natasha and I are no longer seeing each other. She was staying with me because she doesn't have her apartment here anymore and I don't know where she's staying right now but you should go and talk to her." He said and closed the door.

.

.

.

When Clint returned to SHIELD, things weren't better.

"Hey, what happened?" He said arriving to the conference room.

"The Council knows about Komarov, they want to talk with us." Natasha said.

"Ok...this is going to be hard." Fury entered the room. "The Council will want to know exactly what happened, ok? These are the reports you made about the mission. We will review both of them." He said giving them the files.

"Sir, honestly, don't you think it's better if we focus in finding him?" Clint said.

"I understand what you're saying Barton, but I can't do anything. Komarov is not just another mafia guy." Fury answered. "He's also threading you two directly and he's not keeping it to himself exactly." Both of them understood and followed orders. The Council was going to talk to them via video chat.

"Ready?" Fury asked them and they nodded. On the big screen appeared the five members of the Council suited and everything.

"Director Fury." Alexander Pierce greeted him. "Agent Barton and Romanoff, what a surprise," he said sarcastically. Clint and Natasha heard the comment but they just replied with a 'good afternoon.'

"So, first of all, how come we just knew about this situation yesterday?" Pierce asked.

"We needed to be sure before making any dangerous movement." Fury said.

"And now we're sure?" Replied Pierce. "Agents?" He turned to look at them.

"Yes, sir. We have a few contacts that informed us that Komarov is again in the business." Clint answered.

"Alright, then we'll proceed to check your reports about the mission." He said and everyone opened the folders of the reports. They started recounting the events of the mission and throwing questions to Clint and Natasha about every single detailed which they answered without complications.

"Ok, so we arrive to the night of the 'death' of Komarov," Pierce said after half an hour. "Here it says that agent Romanoff acted as Komarov's hostage. He took her to an old abandoned bridge where he was planning to kill her." He continued. "And agent Barton was following them, what happened then?" He asked Clint and Natasha.

"Before he could kill Natasha, I shot him three times in the chest." Clint answered.

_-Flashback-_

"_Drop the weapon, Barton. I will kill her!" Komarov shouted. He was holding by the neck not letting her breath and pointing a gun to her head. _

"_Komarov, this is over!" Clint shouted back without lowering his weapon. _

"_Yes, it's over for you. I'm going to kill both of you." Komarov kept speaking. Meanwhile Barton looked at Natasha. She was holding a knife that was took from Komarov. She made him a sign and Clint knew what to do._

"_Ok, ok. I'm lowering my gun." Barton said putting the gun on the floor. He couldn't bring his bow because they were not really dealing with a shooting or a big crisis in the middle of a mass destruction. Natasha stabbed Komarov in the leg making him groan in pain. She fell to the floor and Clint shot him three times on the chest. Komarov fell backwards._

"And you were sure he was dead?" Pierce asked. "Who confirmed Komarov's death?"

"I did. I checked his pulse and there wasn't one." Natasha said.

"You didn't check him, Barton?"

"No, I mean, Romanoff had already verified it. I didn't think it was necessary." Clint said. The Council stayed in silence for a few seconds.

"_You're ok?" Clint said helping Natasha to stand up._

"_Yeah." She said. She approached to Komarov's lying body and placed her fingers on the carotid trying to find his pulse. "He's dead." She said in relieve. _

"Agent Romanoff, we know that you were working for Komarov before you joined SHIELD." Pierce said.

"Yeah." Natasha said with some doubts; she didn't like the way Pierce said that.

"He hasn't contact you?" Pierce began questioning her.

"I'm sorry, what are you saying?" Natasha began getting angry and looked at Clint who was practically the same.

"Director Fury, may we speak in private, please?" Pierce turned the conversation.

"Why are you not answering me?" She insisted.

"Agents, you're presence is not required anymore," Pierce said. "Thank you." Clint got up and made Natasha a sign to stand up. She followed him and left Fury talking with the Council.

"I don't like what you're saying." Fury replied to the comments made about the case or more specifically about Natasha. "You're stating that Romanoff is working with Komarov." He said almost shouting.

"Fury, think about the possibility..."

"No, Romanoff has proven for years that she's loyal to SHIELD," Fury defended her. "She has helped us with anything regarding the destruction of the Red Room and the imprisoned of the members of the mafia since she got here." They continued arguing. Basically, the Council's saying that Romanoff was a traitor and Fury trying to make them understand that she was not.

.

.

.

After an hour of waiting, Fury called both Clint and Natasha.

"They can't do that!" Natasha shouted.

"Romanoff..." Fury said trying to calm her after he explained Council's orders.

"No, they think I'm working with them, that I let him live. There's no one else who wants him death more than I do." She continued.

"I know that, unfortunately the Council gave me an order." Fury explained. "I want you to stay out of it; you no longer participate on this mission. Barton will take care." Fury looked at Clint who had been keeping silence for a while. "You'll be in charge of the operation." Clint nodded and looked at Natasha.

"I'm not a traitor, Fury." She said now that she was more relaxed.

"I know, I trust you and you have my full support," he said touching her shoulder. "But right now we need Komarov as soon as we can. The Council will be checking every single step we made. Let Barton take care of this, at least they let him stay."

"Fine." She put her hands on her face and finally replied.

"Good, now leave." He said to Natasha. "Barton, I would like you to give me the list of your team before you leave tonight."

"Sure." He said opening the door for Natasha to get out first.

Before she crossed, the door he said, "You know you can have anonymous contacts, right, Barton? One of them may be a great help." Both agents looked at him understanding the message.

"Thanks, sir." Barton said before leaving the office.

After that, Natasha said she wanted to go to the gym. She usually did that when she needed somewhere to get off her anger. Clint knew that and let her go; he needed to think who he will choose as the team that would work with him on this.

**So here it is. What do you think? **

**I want to explain something. As I wrote in last chapter, Ivan is in this and every of my stories a good person, he is Natasha's adoptive father and he loves her. I know this may be weird for some of you since most of the stories said that Ivan was the horrible person who abused of Natasha and things like that. But honestly, I don't think that's him. He saved her and took care of her and Natasha really loves him back. **

**I mean, Natasha needs at least a few persons who cares for her and help her when she is in trouble. She can't be completely alone or just have Clint, at least not in this world. **

**Review please :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Another chapter! It will start to get more interesting now. **

As Fury ordered, Clint was working on the case and Natasha obviously helped him as his "contact". The agents were allowed to have their anonymous contacts and they have no obligation on reporting anything about them even if the Council asked.

"All right, so we have Komarov in Poland in October, 2008. That was 8 months after the mission in Moscow. Let's say that he had been recovering," Natasha repeated their discoveries. As the Council ordered Natasha to stay out of the way, Barton work as much as he could at SHIELD and then went with Natasha to talk to her. They had agreed on keeping their distant but these were special circumstances. And it wasn't very new for them to stay in their apartments all night working on missions. Natasha was sitting on the floor of the living room with her legs crossed and leaning on the large couch while Clint was sitting on the individual couch.

"Yep" Clint replied looking at the map.

"How the hell did he survived. I mean, even if he had the best doctors, he couldn't have lived unless they were already expecting him there or something." She continued talking. They have organized in a huge map all the movements Komarov had over the last 5 years. The map had red wires crossed everywhere; from Russia to Poland to Spain and then to Brazil, it was crazy.

"Three days ago, he was seen in Greece; he was supposed to meet with Nicholas Ivanovich." Clint said. "He was there for less than 48 hours and no one knows where he went."

"I'll ask a few people, see if they have seen him," she said. "But first I need to take fresh air, we've been here for five hours, I can't feel my legs anymore." She said standing up and going to the little terrace in Clint's apartment. She stayed there watching the city at night.

"Hey," Clint joined her at the terrace after probably twenty minutes. He leaned on the balcony with her.

"Hey," she replied.

"It's still March 8th, right?" He said showing her a beautiful salmon rose.

"Oh God!" She looked at the rose and a tear almost dropped. She smelled the rose and smile. "Thank you."

"You're still my friend. You deserve it."

"Many people would disagree with you."

"I don't care about the others." Clint said. "Besides, what could they say? Today it's women's day."

"We're not in Russia." She reminded him.

"But you're Russian; all I'm doing is following a custom from your culture." He replied. "I've been doing this since we start working together and I'm not planning on stopping it, not this. You'll always going to be important for me." He said. Natasha blushed and turned to see the city again just to avoid Clint's eyes. Honestly, she was melting inside but something still in her mind was telling her to focus.

They returned to the living room to continue working. Natasha made those calls she needed to confirm Komarov's last movements while Clint Kept doing something in the computer.

"Ok, according to Ethan, he heard that Komarov is in..." Natasha started saying.

"Petersburg?" Clint finished the sentence.

"Yeah, how do you know?" She said sitting at edge of the sofa where Clint was.

"I was checking the videos of the principal airports in Russia, look." He said showing her the video tape. It showed a man with Komarov's appearance wearing a long coat followed by a couple of men at one of the private hangars in the airport of Saint Petersburg.

"How did anybody saw him?" Natasha asked.

"That's a good question. But, why Petersburg? I mean, very likely, he knows we are looking for him and he's been too obvious." Clint stated.

"I don't know, maybe he wants us to find him." She responded. They kept discussing about Komarov. It passed midnight and Clint noticed Natasha fallen slept just where she was sitting in front of the little table. He grabbed her and carried her to the bedroom.

"Mmh..." Natasha started moving. "What are you doing? This is your bed." She said and tried to get out of the bed still sleepy.

"Shh. Relax. I'll sleep on the couch." He said making her stay again. She was so tired that decided to just obey him and fell asleep in a few seconds. Clint went back to the living room where he reported to SHIELD and then went to sleep on the couch.

.

The next morning, Natasha woke up and remembered that Clint took her to sleep. She took her shoes and brushed her hair before going to the kitchen. She found a note from Clint saying that he had to go to the quarters to keep going with the investigation. She smiled as she saw a plate with eggs in front of the microwave which was great because she was terrible at cooking. Mornings like these and nights like yesterday were when she remembered how amazing Clint was. I didn't matter how rigid or serious he might seem to others at SHIELD, for her she was a truly gentlemen and the best partner and friend she could had ever asked for. She ate the little breakfast and left to her hotel room to take a shower and change her clothes. She grabbed her flower and left.

It was almost ten o'clock when she was arriving to her room. She looked and saw Ivan walking towards her.

"Oh, perfect." She exclaimed. "What now? I just came back from spending the night somewhere else; you're going to shout at me more?" She said unlocking the door and getting in.

"No, Natalia." He said sadly following her. "I owe you an apology."

"What?" She asked confused searching for a glass to put the flower.

"Barton came to talk to me." Ivan said making Natasha to look at him. "He said you guys split up?"

"Yeah," she said coldly.

"I never meant to cause that."

"That doesn't help." She replied sitting on the sofa.

"Natalia..." Ivan sat on the couch with her. "I came to apologize with you. I shouldn't have said all that crap before. I've been watching for you since you were three years old and I know all the stuff you have been through. I didn't want you to get hurt again."

"It's my decision who I am with; plus I mean, Barton is..." Natasha said, "if I was with him was because I knew he wouldn't hurt me." She confessed.

"Ok, I have to say this and I promise I will never interfere in your life again," Ivan said and Natasha listened him attentively, "That relationship is never a good idea. And I probably be old fashioned but I'm sure that's not what neither both of you want." He told her and Natasha just passed her hand through her hair. "Or am I wrong? Who gave the flower?" He asked teasingly. Natasha just turned and looked at the flower in the bar of the kitchen and let her lips curved a little. "I'll return to Russia in a few hours. I just wanted to talk to you before," he said standing up. "Take care." He said kissing her hair and leaving. Of course Ivan had no idea what was happening with Komarov and Natasha was not planning on telling him.

.

.

.

Ivan left as he said leaving Natasha alone again to take care of Komarov. Indeed, he was in Saint Petersburg. Clint talked with Fury and the Council. They seemed to have approved his plan. He was going to lead a STRIKE team that will apprehend Komarov. It looked easy; Komarov was hiding on an old abandoned warehouse. They just have to wait, entered and kill him.

"Hey, Nat. I just called to tell you we're going after him, ok? Don't worry, I'll kill the bastard," Clint left Natasha a message.

"Don't worry, I'll tell her." Clint heard and immediately recognized the voice, Komarov.

"Son of a bitch! Where is she?" Clint was furious but more confused than anything. How did he get her?

"She's here and so will you. Here take a look," Komarov said and send him a video. It showed Natasha being tied to a chair with some other man slapping her. Clint looked at the video with such anger he was burning. "Hurry up. I might get bored and kill her before you arrive." He teased and hung up.

.

After hanging up, Clint went with the team and Fury. "Change of plans," he entered the room.

"Excuse us, Barton." Fury said.

"Komarov called," he began, "well he didn't call, I call Natasha. I don't know how but he got her." Everyone looked surprised and turned to Fury.

They discuss the matter and contacted the Council. "You're still thinking she's with him?" Barton questioned them after showing them the video.

"What does he want?" Pierce asked.

"He didn't say exactly; he wants me to go." Clint answered.

The Council members looked at each other and talked. "Alright then, we have considered the options and you'll follow your previous plan."

"What? You do realize that if we strike Komarov's, he will kill her," Clint said standing up, "she's a SHIELD agent; he's torturing her. You..."

"Agent Romanoff is a very good agent, I'm sure she can get free from Komarov on her own before we get there." Pierce interrupted. "She's expendable, we cannot risk on losing him again." No one could believe what Pierce just said. 'Expendable'? How was Natasha 'expendable'? They were very wrong if the Council thought they wouldn't do anything to save her.

**Here it is. What do you think? I would love to read your reviews :)**

**I love the Russian tradition in women's day, it is a lovely thing they do there. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! This chapter we will return a few years and learn about the mission in which Hawkeye was sent to kill the Black Widow. Things they have never talked about will be discovered in this one. Enjoy!**

_Saint Petersburg, Russia. 2006_

_It was a beautiful night that February. It was actually freezing but to Natasha was amazing. She loved watching the snow falling. Inside the mansion there was a party. Komarov's allies and friends went basically to get drunk and talk about business among other issues. Natasha was one of the few women who were present, most of as lovers. _

_She was sitting on a bench on the backyard of the mansion wearing a nice green dress under a beautiful brown coat that was only found in Russia for the winter. "Care if I join?" Natasha heard Clint. _

_"Actually, yes. Don't you have a poker match?" She said coldly. _

_"I just wanted to clear what happened in the morning." He said sitting next to her. _

_"No need." She said looking up to the snow. _

_"Just so you know that I understand your disagreement in my plans but I assure you: they'll work." He said. As his cover was, he took charge of planning the strategies on Komarov's works. In the couple of months he had been playing it, he had argued with Natasha a lot and as it was expected, Komarov supported to Clint which upset Natasha even more. _

_"If it helps you sleep." She replied. _

_"Why are you here? Aren't you freezing?" Clint said trying to warm his hands with his breath. He was also wearing a coat but he wasn't as used to that winter as her. _

_"I needed a moment outside all of that." Natasha answered. _

_"Yeah," he said. Those two months had made Clint realize that Natalia Romanova aka the Black Widow wasn't just an assassin, she was a woman and a very smart one; Clint learned to admire her determination and respected her despite her reputation. _

_"Why are you here?" He asked suddenly, "I'm sure this is not the life you imagined you'd have."_

_"What? The great parties with men looking at us like meat, being at the service of a disgusting man as his mercenary; is what I've always dreamed of having," she said sarcastically almost smiling. _

_"He treats you like..."_

_"Like a whore?" She finished the sentence and he looked ashamed. It wasn't new for anyone the way Komarov treated her. He usually shouted at her whom Natasha replied earning a slap or whatever humiliating comment. It was awful, but at least there was someone with the enough guts to stand in front of him. "Normally, I would never stay so long with someone but I guess I was tired running all the time. Plus, being working for him...well, at least protects me from other enemies." She kept talking surprising herself that she was confessing all that. _

_Clint felt some pity, hearing Natasha. He started thinking that maybe she wasn't as cold as everyone thought. In fact, he had grown respect towards her. "Come on," he stood up and offered her his hand. "It's snowing and we have music." He said hearing the music from inside. _

_Natasha hated that he came and altered her world. Before him plans were easier, everybody listened to her or at least fear her but with Clint she had to argue all the time. But also she admitted that he was quite clever and one of the few who were educated there. She thought of it for a while and finally took his hand. _

_Now, they were dancing slowly. They met each other's' eyes and stayed there for a few seconds. He then realized who he had in front of him. Sweetly, he touched her cheek and began leaning. Unexpectedly, she didn't step back waiting for him. Their lips met for an instant. Clint held her head while her arms stayed around his neck pausing for a moment to resume their kiss, just now it was more passionate. _

_They stopped when they heard the laughs of Komarov and the other men inside the house. They turned to their direction still in each other's arms. "Let's get out of here." Natasha said grabbing his hand and leading him to her place not far from there. Clint wanted to say 'no'; he knew it was wrong and unprofessional and still he didn't. _

_As soon as they closed the door, they surrender to their repressed passion. They let their coats fall and he began removing her jeans. When they were out with her shoes, they got rid of his shirt. He then lift her up having her legs around his waist and heading to the bedroom. He laid her on bed and continued kissing her neck making her moan in pleasure. This could have been the most stupid thing she had done since she arrived to Petersburg but it felt so good she couldn't stop it. _

_._

_._

_._

_Next morning, Natasha woke up naked. Flashes from last night passed through her mind. Clint had already gone which really didn't surprise her. It wasn't as if they were a couple, it was very probably it was just one night stand. She took a shower and prepared to visit Komarov again; apparently, he had a very important subject he wanted to discuss with her. _

_._

_"You wanted to see me?" She entered the house. _

_"Yes, you left early yesterday." He was waiting for her in the reception. _

_"I was tired." She made up an excuse._

_"Really? Tired?" He said getting closer. "Of what? Of getting laid with Zharkov?" He asked throwing at the table photos of last night. Natasha looked at them burning inside. How did he get this? She didn't know but he had gone too far._

_"Whom do I sleep with is none of your business!" She replied indignant._

_"It is when he turns out to be an agent of SHIELD!"_

_"What?" She said all confused. Komarov showed him the evidence including Clint pasts missions wearing the SHIELD uniform. _

_"He is a traitor. Don't you see it? He was here under covered and you took him to your bed." _

_Natasha didn't know what to do. She couldn't believe what was happening. While she was on her way Komarov's house, she thought that maybe she didn't want it to be just one night stand. "Where is he?" She asked still shocked at the evidence. _

_"You didn't see him this morning? How come?" He said sarcastically. "You two, I want you to bring him to me. He'll respond for his actions." He called a couple of men. _

_"No," Natasha said. "Let me do this. He is a traitor but he also humiliated me. I will make him pay." To her surprise, Komarov consented. He let her go after him and she immediately went. _

_"When she finds him, you kill them both. Understood?" He commanded to his men. _

.

.

.

Back to 2013...

"Ah Natasha, I was starting to think you would give up." Komarov said with an evil voice. They had been torturing her for a while now; just a day ago he had spoken to Clint. "Your boyfriend called yesterday, I hope you're not mad that I answered on your behalf. We'll see how much he really cares about you."

"You won't get out of this alive." She said breathing heavily. "Not this time. He will find you and end this chase."

"Oh, your feelings for him are ridiculous." He told her. "Unfortunately darling, he's already paying for taking you away." He made a sign and his guards bring an unconscious man to the room. Natasha immediately recognized him and looked with horror. The guards spread near his nose some kind of spice waking him up. "Agent Barton, glad you join us." He said. Clint was being chained by his wrists hanging with his feet tied up. "Do you remember this warehouse? You decided to betray me here."

-Flashback-

_Natasha had been all day figuring out where Clint was. She reached an old warehouse and entered. She could felt someone standing behind her. She gave a few steps forward and decided to attack. They started fighting; throwing punches and kicks to each other. They kept going for a considerable amount of time until Clint finally managed to crushed her to the wall. _

_"Hey!" Clint was trying to stop her from throwing kicks. _

_"You're American, a f*** agent of SHIELD!" she said, "why are you here?" She demanded._

_"I was sent to track and kill someone." He replied._

_"Komarov?"_

_"You." He confessed._

_"Me?" She reacted and got free punching him. They continued their fight for several minutes more until Clint was able to control her again. _

_"Would you listen to me?"_

_"So, what was your plan?" She said continuing to defend herself. "You were gonna kill me but before you had to screw me." She threw a strong kick but he managed to stop it. _

_"What?" Clint said. "Do you think I slept with you..." He stopped fighting for a moment. "Last night was real for me and for you too, I know it."_

_"Sure, as real as your name and background. Son of a b****," she resumed the fight. _

_"I won't do it." He said having her against the wall once more._

_"What?" She stopped moving. _

_"You said you were tired of all this, of running, of working for men like Komarov. What if I tell you could stop doing it?" She listened and looked at him._ _"SHIELD sent me to kill you because you work for the Russian mafia or anyone who has the enough money to employ you. But if you could work for us, they might_ _consider letting__you live."_

_"You're not serious. You're American, you hate Russians."_

_"That might be true, most of the time," He continued, "Right now, you're a liability for my country; you can become an asset and if SHIELD accepts you, you won't have to run again, you'll become an agent and they will protect you. No one will treat you like this anymore." Natasha had to recognize that he knew how to convince someone._

_"And what makes you think SHIELD will accept me so easily. They sent you to kill me not to recruit me."_

_"Yes, but I know, if you say 'yes', that my people would think twice before letting this opportunity pass by." He admitted. "You're the Black Widow, anyone would be lucky to have you by his side." Natasha kept looking at him searching for any sign of cheating and found nothing. _

_"You're telling me to abandon my country." He had free her by now; he was just standing in front of her._

_"Not Russia, the Russian mafia. I'm not asking you to become an American; just come with me, work for SHIELD and forget all this." He finished his speech. Then they heard some men entering the warehouse._

_"Those are Komarov's men." She pointed out. _

_"We need to go or they kill us both." He said running to a different exit from where the men entered. "You come with me?" He turned to look at her. Natasha was confused. On one hand she felt that if she followed him, she would be betraying her country; but on the other side, a life as an agent of SHIELD may not have been her dream but it was a better life away than the one of a mercenary. She turned once more to where the men's steps were heard and then at Clint. Finally, she decided. _

**And there you got my version (for this story) of how Clint made a different call. I hope you liked it. **

**What do you think will happen now that both of them are taken by Komarov. **

**I would love to read your comments. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you liked their background.**

**So now we have a serious problem: Clint and Natasha were being held by Komarov. Many things happen when your life is being threated. **

Moments later Komarov left them alone in the room. The warehouse was dark and empty; there were just a table on one of the corners, the chair where Natasha was sitting and the chains holding Clint. The few light passing through small windows allowed them to see. Clint was still trying to wake up completely. He coughed hard a few times for the pepper.

"Clint?" Natasha called him.

"Nat." He replied.

"What are you doing here?" Natasha asked.

"You really thought I would have left my partner alone." He said. "What happened, Nat?"

"I was returning from taking Ivan to the airport. When I got to the hotel, I noticed the door unlocked. I entered the apartment with my gun but there must have been someone waiting 'cause I suddenly felt a strong hit on the head. When I woke up I was here." It was hard for her to admit the she was taken just like that, but honestly, with everything that was happening during those last weeks her mind was not there. "Does SHIELD know where we are?"

"Well, they should know I'm missing by now. Hopefully..."

"You came alone? Clint!" She said.

"They were going to let you die here, you know? For the Council, you're expendable. They gave orders to Fury to not compromise the mission with an extraction team for you." He interrupted her. "But Fury couldn't do it and let me come, of course without SHIELD's name."

"He should have. You should have. Komarov wants revenge and he's not going to stop until he gets it."

"What part don't you understand? I'm not leaving you!" Clint said almost shouting. It really frustrated him that Natasha couldn't understand how important she was for him. He had to argue with the Council until Fury let him free to go for her. "I..."

"What?" She said realizing that Clint wanted to say something.

"I love you."

"Oh God, Clint, not now."

"No, I have to tell you this." He started. "I love you and I'm sorry I didn't notice it before or perhaps it was just in denial. The point is that now more than ever I realize how important you are for me. When I heard Komarov's voice through the phone, I thought I would lose you for real." Clint finally opened his heart. Natasha couldn't believe it. "Nat?"

_Flashback-2009_

_Natasha was visiting Russia for a week. She ran into her old friend Anastasia. They met in the Ballet Academy and became best friends; she was even her maid of honor at Natasha's wedding with Alexei. But then Alexei "died" and Natasha was taken back to the Red Room to be brainwashed and trained to become officially the Black Widow by the Winter Soldier. When Natasha joined SHIELD, she reestablished contact with Anastasia who was fascinated. She missed Natasha so much. Natasha had to be honest with her and told her who she was before becoming an agent of SHIELD (most of it). Even when Anastasia didn't like it, she recognized the Natasha she met long ago and decided to continue their friendship. Anastasia didn't know much about Natasha's work, all she knew was that she was a top agent at SHIELD and many times she had to do dangerous missions risking her life. She had to admit that she got worried but what could she do? Anastasia was still a dancer at the Bolshoi and had been a prima ballerina for five years then. _

_"Really? That's amazing!" Natasha congratulated her friend happily taking café at a small place._

_"I know. I'll be on tour for the next month all over Europe." Anastasia replied smiling. Natasha was so happy for her friend even when talking about this made her feel a little melancholic thinking of what her life could have been if she hadn't gone to the Red Room. She still danced in her free time but it wasn't the same, she remembered how people loved to see her dancing on stage, how many flowers she could get from her fans. "But enough about me, what about you? How are things going in the States? How's Clint?" She asked interested. She met Clint a year ago and totally she loved him._

_"He's fine." She said not very convincingly. _

_"Come on, what's up?" Anastasia noted her tone. _

_"I don't know, it's just...it still feels weird being there working together after a year." She confessed. _

_"Oh God, Natasha" Anastasia took her hand. They were at a cafe drinking and talking like normal friends. Natasha loved to have a friend outside all the spies' world, talking to Anastasia was a way of getting out of there for a moment. _

_"I'm pathetic." Natasha said resting her head on her right hand with her elbow on the table. _

_"Why? For being in love? That's not pathetic at all, it's amazing."_

_"It is when he doesn't even look you back. And I never said I loved him." She replied._

_"Whatever, I seriously doubt that Clint doesn't look at you. Again, why did he break up with you?"_

_"Yeah, apparently our relationship could harm both of our careers." She said taking her coffee. "I guess that being Morse doesn't harm his career," she murmured._

_"Who's Morse?"_

_"She's an agent; she's training to work on the field. Barton met her when he had to substitute Mark while he was sick six months ago. Anyway, you know the problem is that she's really nice...I mean, she even talks to me very cool when Clint is working with me. And I get it, she doesn't have any big traumas with an organization or her dead husband, her life is pretty normal, she is normal." She said looking at her coffee kind of sad. _

_"Don't say that, he cares about you," Anastasia tried to comfort Natasha. _

_"Yeah, he cares. As much as he can cares for a friend. I'm the girl he saved because he felt pity for her and now is her partner."_

_"Nat, you have to tell him?"_

_"What could I tell him?" _

_"That you're crazy for him. Natasha you're dying inside. He's going to continue hurting you."_

_"Maybe, but I can't risk it once more. Clint is the best friend I have there...I can't afford to lose him even if it tortures me." She said and a small tear started to form on her eye. _

_-End of flashback-_

"Sorry," she said after a moment of thinking. She wished they were not there, that Clint wasn't telling her that because there was the very high possibility that they might die soon. "I..." she was about to answer when Komarov and his men entered.

"Well, you had your time for a little chat. Now it's my turn." He said opening a suitcase. "You're going to tell me everything about SHIELD."

.

.

.

Around an hour later, Clint was still struggling in pain. Komarov have been cutting him with knifes with acid and punching him as hard as his men could. Barton was bleeding through his mouth, some wounds in his head and body. Natasha was being drowned every time they didn't answer the question. A guy was holding her with her wrists and feet tied up kneeling. She was coughing trying to breathe again.

"We can do this as long as you want. All you have to do is give me some answers, and then I'll make it quick." He said but they stayed silent. "Once more." He ordered to one of the big guys and he punched Barton on the abdomen. Natasha just closed her eyes. She blamed herself for getting caught and then Clint went to find her and he got caught too. Plus the anger because the Council and SHIELD let her alone got her pretty angry. Is not that she really cared of being liked but she had done and given so many things up for SHIELD that she at least expected some kind of concern or at least not being cataloged as 'expendable'.

After a few more minutes of torture, Komarov was starting to get bored. "You're not telling me anything right," he looked at Clint. Clint just stared back strongly. He looked back at Natasha still kneeling. "Oh dear, you could have stayed with me." He said stroking her cheek while Natasha looked at him with repulse. "And instead, you chose a pathetic agent."

"Well not anymore. Tied her up." He ordered.

"Wait, what do you think you're doing?" Clint shouted.

"Clint, leave it. It's ok." She tried to convince him. The guards took her by the arms to hang her like Clint was. The moment they pulled her up she felt an agonizing pain in her stomach that made her kneel again.

"Nat?" Clint saw her falling groaning in pain.

"What's wrong?" Komarov asked to his men. They defended themselves saying that they didn't hit her but she couldn't get up.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Clint shouted. Komarov then hit him again. He then turned back to see what was going on with Natasha who was still on the floor breathing heavily. They were about to move when they heard a helicopter.

"_Viktor Komarov, this is SHIELD. You and your men come out with your hands free."_ Coulson's voice was heard.

"Kill them." Komarov ordered in an act of desperation. The men didn't have time to take their guns. Barton took the opportunity to act. Since he had Komarov backwards he lift his legs and put them around Komarov's neck not letting him move or breathe very well.

"One move and I twist his neck." He warned the men who were about to shoot him. Natasha kneeling looked up at one of the guards and noticed he had a knife on his pants. She reached it quickly and cut the man's brachial artery causing him to bleed out instantly. Blood dropped reaching Natasha. This all happened in a matter of seconds but there was still another man standing.

Thankfully, a group strike SHIELD agents entered the room shouting an ordering the man and Komarov to drop their weapons. They had no other option than to comply. They took the guard and then Komarov letting Clint free. He stayed on the floor trying to let the blood reach his arms again, it hurt like hell. After the agents had already left with the prisoners, Coulson get in to see his agents.

"Good, you're still alive."

"How did you come?" Clint said standing up.

"Fury informed the Council of your disappearance and the Council didn't have any choice than to let a team come when Fury threated to do it himself. Plus Stark and Rogers realized of your disappearance and threated too." Coulson informed him while Clint got closer to Natasha who didn't move and stayed on the floor.

"Hey, you're ok?" He said and a medic team got in.

"Yeah, go with them. I'll be back after you." She said and he agreed going to be checked up.

"The guys are here?" Clint asked.

"Stark and Rogers? Yes. How do you think we get so fast?" Clint nodded.

"Coulson?" Natasha said after Clint left. "I need help."

"What is it, Romanoff?" He asked concerned.

"I'm bleeding and it hurts like hell. I can't get up." She said in pain passing her hand through her pants and looking at the blood showing it to Coulson.

"…Ok," Coulson reacted still confused but he had to help Natasha now, he called the medical team and took Natasha to the closest hospital a fast as they could. Natasha asked Coulson not to tell Clint, he'll get worry and right now he had to be attended for his injuries too.

**OMG! What's happening to Natasha? Next chapter it's not going to be easy, I warn you. **

**Please review :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Thank you to all my reviewers and followers and the people who favorited the story. I'm very grateful.**

**Alright, let's begin. This s a tough one, it really hurt me writing it but I needed to do it, don't hate me.**

**Another thing, I made a super big mistake. For a moment I forgot Coulson is already "dead" and I include him in the story, so it's not Coulson who arrived but Fury. Sorry :D**

The team took Natasha to the nearest hospital. She had already lost a large amount of blood and the pain was getting stronger. When they arrived she was taken to the OR immediately. Clint noticed the emergency and although Fury didn't tell him what was going on, he followed them to the hospital. After all, he had to be checked too. Stark and Rogers followed them and stayed with Clint in the clinic. They did a few X-rays on him to check if he was fine; he had just a few bruises all over but he was going to be fine.

"Thanks guys." Clint said sitting on the edge of a bed talking with Tony and Steve.

"Don't mention it. We couldn't leave you two alone. That's what friends do, no?" Steve replied.

"Yeah," Clint said getting up. "You know what happened with Natasha?"

"No, Fury went with her in the other ambulance." Tony answered. "But, what did you do to that guy, Komarov. I mean, he seemed pretty determine on killing you guys."

"You remember that we said Natasha was working as a mercenary in Russia when we met and that I was supposed to kill her?" Clint said and they nodded, "well, Komarov is the guy Natasha was working for then. When she came to SHIELD he couldn't take it, he had a weird obsession for her."

"SHIELD has him controlled; he's not going anywhere." Fury entered the room. "You'll be able to interrogate him when we return to Triskelion."

"Thanks, how's Natasha?" Clint kept asking. "I know they took her to the OR, I thought she was just playing Komarov when she couldn't get up..."

"She's fine; she's already on a room. They are just checking her, should be able to leave today." That comforted Clint, knowing that it was going to be ok. Fury asked if he could talk with Barton in private and both Stark and Steve left. "Clint, did Natasha tell you something else before all this happened?"

"What do you mean, what could she tell me?" He asked confused.

"Listen, I know you too have been more that friends for a while..." Fury stopped Clint before starting to argue. "I'm not going to discuss that with you right now. You need to talk with her but before, they need your declaration." Fury said leaving Clint more worried than before.

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Fury went back to Natasha's room where the doctor was waiting for him. Natasha had already awoken and he needed Fury to be there. Luckily, this doctor knew English. They entered to the room and found Natasha looking all around the room confused.

"Agent Romanoff, who are you feeling?" The doctor asked.

"I feel weird." She said trying to sit down but couldn't for the pain.

"You need to stay in bed for today at least." Natasha touched her lower abdomen where the pain was coming from. "Do you know what happened?"

"I was...Komarov caught me, he was torturing me." She said trying to sitting down. She suddenly felt pain in her abdomen. "Easy, you'll start bleeding again." The doctor grabbed her shoulders to lay her back.

"I had a miscarriage, right?" Natasha said sadly.

"How long had you known about the pregnancy?" The doctor asked.

"I started feeling odd a week ago. I took the test..." She answered. "I'm sorry," she turned to Fury, "I should have told you. It's just that I didn't know what to do." She confessed.

"Don't worry about that." Fury replied. The doctor then started explaining her condition.

"Natasha, the fetus was 10 weeks long and this is not your first miscarriage. I want you to be careful. We removed all the matter in you uterus but there are still consequences. You need to be surrounded by people. Please don't push them away." He told her and she just made a sign. "You know how this is. You'll have some bleeding for the next weeks and some pain. You have to rest. If you notice something strange, you go to the hospital, ok?"

"Yeah. So when can I leave?" She said without looking him but to the sheets.

"I'll check on you once more in an hour and if everything is normal, you may go. I know you'll have to take a flight, it's ok, just stay in bed and be careful." Natasha nodded and Fury assured him that they will watch her. "Alright, I'll leave you. I'm sorry." He said kindly. Natasha just nodded while some small tears started falling and were quickly removed.

"Where is Clint?" She asked.

"He's ok. He was called by the Council to declare." Fury answered. "He should be here any moment." He got nearer at her side. "Natasha, did he know?"

That took Natasha by surprise; well, not really, at the end Natasha knew Fury was well aware of their relationship. She shook her head, 'no.' "And, what about Komarov?"

"He's under custody. Don't worry about him now. I can't imagine how hard this is." He said sitting next to her.

"I need to talk to Clint." Was the only reply Fury got from her.

"Sure, he should be already free." Fury told her and that he was going to wait outside with Stark and Rogers.

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"What happened?" Steve said as soon as he saw Fury walking closer.

"I need to tell you this before Stark hack the database of the hospital." Fury began. "And also so you don't act all strange. Natasha had a miscarriage; it couldn't resist all the stress from being there with Komarov."

"What? But, she knew?" Tony asked surprised.

"Yes, but she didn't tell Barton so please Stark, keep your mouth shut." He said.

"But she's going to be ok, right?" Steve asked.

"Yes, physically. But I've never seen Romanoff so sad." Fury recognized. "I knew that Clint and she were together, but I thought it wasn't that serious." He continued. Then the doctor joined them.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Nazarov, alright..." He checked his papers once more. "I already explained everything to agent Romanoff but since you are her friends and the closest people she has, I think you should know about this too." Dr. Nazarov began explaining.

"During the next weeks, Natasha will suffer of side effects, there's the possibility of a state of depression and grief." Everyone was listening attentively to the doctor. "She is going to need people around her. Does she live with someone?"

"She was staying with Clint..." Tony said in low voice but then remembered that of those days he talked with Clint and told him what happened.

"Well, she's shouldn't be alone. I've met several agents in her situation; she seems strong and she is but when it comes to something like this...I can break anyone. I've seen it too many times." The doctor said and they nodded understanding.

"We'll take care of her." Stark said just as Fury moments before.

"Very well." He said and the left.

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A few minutes later, Clint was finally released from declaration and headed right to Natasha. He knocked the door and opened it slowly finding Natasha leaning on her right side looking at the window.

"Hey." Clint said and Natasha quickly turned to see him. "The guys told me I should speak with you." Clint sat next to her grabbing her hand.

"Yeah, listen I need to tell you something that I should have told you before everything happened." She said.

"Ok?..." Clint asked getting worried.

"A week ago I woke up feeling nausea and headaches. I realized I was pregnant." Natasha said and immediately Clint's face changed and let go her hand.

"A week ago? And you didn't tell me?" He said with an angry tone. Natasha's eyes started to get red and with tears. "Wait, this was before March 8th?..." He said remembering that night.

"I know. I was scared; I didn't know what to do. We had Komarov's issue and Ivan was here...I'm sorry." She said with a broken voice.

"You're sorry? If you could have just told me none of this would have happened!" He started raising his voice.

"What? You would have stop Komarov from getting me?" Natasha said reacting to Clint's words.

"First, I wouldn't have let you alone. I had the right to know, unless it wasn't mine." He said angering her. She didn't respond but with a hard slap on his face. Clint knew he made a mistake.

"I'm sorry, ok?" She said. "I wanted to tell you."

"Still, you didn't." He said standing up but still close.

"What was I supposed to tell you? 'I'm pregnant but don't worry, I'll have a miscarriage during the first trimester so don't get too excited?'" She continued. "Even if Komarov hadn't appeared, this baby wouldn't have survived. I knew it and that's why I didn't tell you right away. I learned that even though I was able to conceive, the possibilities of giving birth were less than 5%." Clint stayed frozen.

"So what was your plan? You weren't going to tell me and wait until the miscarriage happen and then keep going without telling me a single word."

"No, God" She said crying with her head on the pillow and her hands on her face.

"I told you that I loved you and now..."

"Now, what?" She said firmly.

"I don't know but I can't be here right now. I need fresh air." He said opening the door. Natasha threw her head back crying out loud. She expected it to be hard but Clint made it worse.

"Is she calling...Ivan? Her father or whatever she has?" Stark asked the others.

"She has a friend here. I'll call her; she'll be here before we leave. She'll call Ivan." Clint said getting out of Natasha's room; honestly, he looked like hell.

"You ok?" Steve asked.

"You knew?" Clint asked Fury suspiciously ignoring Steve's question.

"No, believe me, Romanoff was probably the last agent I thought had to deal with something like this." Fury answered.

"Yeah, well, I guess you could stop making assumptions." Clint said walking away.

"Barton, where are you going?" Fury shouted.

"Just leave me alone, can you?" Clint said without looking back.

**AAH! I'm really suffering. So those who guessed, Natasha did lose Clint's baby. I'm sorry, but I simply can't see Natasha having a child. It just feels too unreal for me. Maybe in the future I will write something like that but not now.**

**This story is coming to the end :( But at least, I have it almost finished so maybe you won't have to wait until next Friday to get an update :D**

**Please tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for the reviews, I appreciate them a lot. **

After Clint left, everyone stayed in silence not sure of what to say or do. They wanted to know what happened but they thought it would be better if they let things get a little calm before. As the doctor said he went to check on Natasha once more and since everything seemed normal, he discharged Natasha not until he reminded her to be very careful one last time.

As Clint said he called Anastasia and she arrived within an hour just when they were heading to the airport. She met with Fury, Stark and Rogers and decided to go back to Triskelion with them to stay with Natasha while the issue passed. Natasha called Ivan telling him that she had an accident but that she was going to be ok. Since Anastasia assured him to be with Natasha until she gets better he stayed calm in Russia.

They took Natasha on a wheelchair to the plane for precaution and laid her on a sofa. Clint on his side requested to return to the States watching Komarov. Natasha slept the whole flight; with everything that happened she was exhausted.

"What's up, Legolas?" Tony entered with Steve to the special room where Clint was watching Komarov through a security camera.

"I kind of want to be alone." Clint said without glancing at them.

"Listen, we don't want to disturb you," Steve said. "Just want to make sure you're ok. We know you feel angry right now, but I don't think Natasha feels better."

"I know," Clint said standing up. "I get she was scared or whatever and I really want to forgive her. I just can't; thinking that she may have never told me that she was pregnant. I know she is suffering," he said looking at the TV, "I just need to solve this thing with Komarov before thinking on something else."

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Hours later, they finally landed on Washington DC. Clint and Fury went to take care of Komarov. They took him to a maximum security cell while they interrogated him. Fury went to the Council to inform them on the situation. Natasha was received by Hill and taken for another check up to Medical Care. Bruce was actually waiting for them.

"Hey," he said touching her shoulder. "Nat..."

"I know." Natasha cut him up. She appreciated that people showed her concern but she didn't want to hear 'I'm sorry' any more.

"Clint is with Komarov?" He asked and Natasha nodded. "I heard he didn't take it very well."

"Well, I can't blame him." She replied. "You know, the thing is that I've been here before. When I lost Alexei's child, I felt awful. Though I've never wanted kids, not even when I wasn't in this business. I was a dancer and a child was the last thing that came to my mind. I don't know, maybe I'm getting crazy, but I really thought of the possibility of having this child." She laughed hopelessly with tears running through her cheeks.

"You've miscarriage twice?" He asked in surprise.

"Three times, actually. But the second one was a stupidity." She confessed. It really was a stupidity, it was when she was a mercenary but when she knew she was pregnant was because she bled and had the miscarriage. It didn't affect her so bad. She was actually glad it happened.

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Meanwhile on the interrogation room/cell Clint was enjoying the moment of having Komarov prisoned. "Well, isn't it funny how fast rolls can change." He said smiling at Komarov who was handcuffed also in the ankles. Inside, Clint wanted to grab him by the neck and pressed until he couldn't breathe anymore but he had to maintain his poker face. He couldn't let Komarov see any sign of weakness.

"Congratulations, you finally caught me. So, what now?"

"Now, you start talking." Clint said sitting in front of him opening a file. "You're in big trouble. Not only you are one of the most wanted criminals, we have enough evidence to proof your alliances with different groups."

"So? That's what I do. You can't threat me with that." Komarov responded.

"Yeah, well, I don't think they share your opinion about it. The evidence shows you've been cheating them. You have deals with the Volkovs as well as the Dombrovskis, aren't they eternal enemies?" Komarov began getting nervous. Clint had requested to raise the temperature of the room before entering. "What would they think if they discover you've been defrauding them?" Komarov started sweating when Clint put on the table evidence that showed bank accounts and a series of photos. Komarov have been stealing money from both of those mafia family organizations. "What's wrong?" Clint teased him but he kept silence. "I tell you what; SHIELD is ready to make a deal with you. We will keep this information secret if you start talking. And then you go to jail the rest of your life."

"Ha, I would like to hear the other options." Komarov said.

"I imagined you'd say so." Clint replied. "If you don't cooperate, this information goes out and so will you. How much time do you think they will take to find you?" Komarov's face changed realizing the danger. "Forget about you, everyone knows you have a son." He provoked Komarov who fell into the trap and reacted all angered standing up trying to break the chains to attack Clint.

"Hey!" Clint shouted and Komarov sat down again. "SHIELD will protect him and his mother as long as you cooperate." So for the next hours Komarov began talking about his criminal career. Clint asked questions and surprisingly Komarov answered to them with precise data.

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"Good job, Barton." Fury told him waiting for him in the observation room.

"It's easy to control a guy when his family is threatened." Clint said with a quite melancholic tone. Now his poker face was down and he was Clint again.

"It is. Go get some rest." Fury said.

"I'll start the report." Clint said exiting the room.

"Barton?" Fury said trying to make him consider doing something else regarding Natasha. Clint turned but didn't say anything so Fury stopped insisting and let him go.

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More hours later, it was already 8pm. Anastasia took Natasha home. She helped her get in bed.

_"There you go. You're sure you don't want anything?" _Anastasia asked speaking in Russian.

_"I'm fine." _She said grabbing the sheets.

_"He'll come sooner or later he has to." _Anastasia tried to cheer her friend.

"_I'm beginning to doubt it. You know he told me that he loved me back when we were caught and I just kept thinking how was I gonna tell him about the pregnancy._" She told.

"_See, there you got it, he'll forgive you. He probably said it just two days ago but he had loved you for years." _Anastasia's words made Natasha smiled a little.

_"Yeah, but why he had to say until now?"_ She questioned frustrated.

_"I know."_ Anastasia replied understanding her friend, and then she let Natasha rest for the night and went to the living room.

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Back at SHIELD, Clint was almost finished his report. It kept him distracted from thinking of Natasha. He was about to leave but first he wanted to see Komarov once more. So he went downstairs were the cell was. Walking down the hallway he felt something was wrong. When he reached Komarov's cell he saw the two guards down. They were hit and passed out. Barton ran with his gun and found the room empty. "This is Barton, we have a problem." He said through one of the guard's radio.

"How did he get out? He had nothing." One of the guys in the security control office said. "That's because someone helped him." Hill entered tapping some things on the computer showing a videotape that showed a man attacking the guards and leading Komarov to an exit. "He avoided the cameras."

"Yeah but there must have been someone watching this video, no?" Barton asked. Everyone in the room start looking at each other suspiciously. "Who was in charge?"

"Cramer..." Agent Brown answered with everyone searching for him. Barton stared at him for two seconds when he started running. Barton, Hill and the other security agents ran behind him. Suddenly an alarm started ringing all over the facility. Hill and Barton stopped for a moment. "That must be Komarov. Go, we'll take care of Cramer." She said. Barton nodded and ran to the opposite direction.

He ran through the hallways as Fury guided him until he reached an emergency door backwards. "Komarov STOP!" Clint shouted as he went through the door. He saw Komarov and... "Roberts? What the hell?" Barton was astonished.

"Oh, this must be awkward." Komarov teased.

"Shut up!" Clint told Komarov and then turned back with Roberts. "Really? We worked together...in the field, I trusted you were my friend. You have any idea what he did?"

"Of course I know, that's exactly why I'm doing it." Roberts confessed.

"What are you talking about?"

"She killed my partner!" Roberts started sounding desperate and angered.

"Elena? She died on a mission. She was shot during crossfire..." Clint said confused.

"A fire in which Romanoff was involved. I wanted to clear her death to her family, so I went back to investigate and when Komarov got back in business, he contacted me and showed me the evidence. She was there and caused the crossfire, all because she was doing some job for money." Roberts's voice started trembling.

"John, listen to me. You can't do this. Elena died knowing that her partner was a good person. Don't destroy that." Clint tried to calm down Roberts. "She was proud of being with you. She was a great woman." Clint said and tears ran all over John's face. Slowly and still trembling Roberts began lowering his gun

"Oh, for the love of God." Komarov said annoyed rolling his eyes. He grabbed the additional gun John ported on his right side and aimed at Clint.

Two shots were heard in the middle of a deep silence.


	10. Chapter 10

**OMG, I think by now everyone has seen the trailer of the Avengers Age of Ultron. It was awesome. There are a lot of people saying that there are hints about a romance between Black widow and the Hulk; I don't know, they looked pretty close and everything but I still think there is going to be Clintasha. For one simple reason: the ARROW NECKLACE. I think Hulk and the widow are just going to be best friends. Like Natasha was going to be that person Bruce can talk to about how he feels. **

**Anyway, I'm super excited about the trailer and the two clips next couple of Tuesday. It's going to be awesome, right?**

**This is going to be the final chapter. Enjoy.**

"Aah." He kept moving to avoid the cotton with alcohol.

"Will you stop it! You're such a baby." She said while attending his injury.

"Thanks." He commented letting her continue.

"Leave it." She responded putting the bandage on his eyebrow after cleaning the blood.

"No, I mean it, Bobbi. You didn't have to do this."

"And yet, here I am..." Morse replied. "You made quite a good performance down there…until you kicked him on the floor…"

"I had to make sure he was dead. I'm bet your recruits won't forget it."

"You give them a very good lesson." Bobbi said. "Never mess up with someone else's partner." Bobbi was right. Clint shot Komarov twice but they didn't kill him instantly and when Clint came nearer to him, Komarov looked at him with such a displeasure way that Clint kicked him breaking his neck. Bobbi was coincidentally there, she was giving a class to a group of recruits in the place where everything was happening. She took Clint back to the infirmary to cure once more his injury in the left eyebrow since it got opened.

"Yeah, I guess." Clint looked down.

"What were you still doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be with Romanoff?" Clint made a sign. "I'm sorry, but everyone is aware of what happened in Russia." She told him.

'Of course, everyone knows,' Clint thought raising his brow. "I can't talk to her right now..." Clint knew he could trust Bobbi although it was kind of weird to be talking about Natasha with her.

"Ok, you need to drop it." Bobbi interrupted him abruptly. "You can and you will. I know she hide from everyone including you her pregnancy. But seriously, I was thinking that if it were me, I would have at least thought about it too." Bobbi was real surprising Clint. "Listen, you're hurt and you should be but she made a mistake. You love her!" She said. "Oh please, don't give me that look. It was my worst mistake to think that you could forget her years ago."

"Bobbi, I never meant to cause you any harm." He said ashamed.

"I know, I was really angry for quite a while and then I understood everything. Relax I'm fine. I guessed we used each other to forget someone…" She said thoughtful. "Think about what I just told you, ok? You want me to drive you?"

"No," he said giving her a small peek on the check making her smile. "Thanks, Bobbi." He left and Bobbi just smiled.

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_"Who could it be at this hour?"_ Anastasia went to the door. "Clint!" She said surprised. "What are you doing here at one in the morning?"

"Can I talk to her?" Clint said timidly.

Anastasia rolled her eyes and let him in. "You're lucky, Pepper came a few hours ago to see Natasha. They're in the bedroom." She said walking towards the room. "Hold on." She said leaving him waiting outside the room.

"Hi, Clint," Pepper said when she got out of the room.

"Hey, Pepper. Stark told you, I guess." He said standing up to greet her.

"Yeah, pretty much. She seems ok. I'll return tomorrow." She said grabbing her bag and heading to the door. "It was great that you came. See you." She said closing the door. Clint waved her back. Then Anastasia came out too and told him to pass.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He said entering the door hesitantly.

"Clint, it's..." Natasha began saying looking at the clock.

"One in the morning, I know. I needed to see you." Natasha didn't have other option than to listen to him even when she was tired. She told him to close the door and he then tried to kneel so he could look at her upwards. "Nat, I'm so sorry." He said reaching her cheek with his hand but when she felt his hand she moved.

"You said what you thought." She said coldly. "Where's Komarov?"

"He's dead; I killed him." Clint told her leaving Natasha amazed. Then he relate her everything that happened since the interrogatory until he left Triskelion.

"Oh boy," she said removing the tears from her face after Clint finished telling her the story. "Stupid hormones." She protested.

"It's ok." Clint tried once more to touch her and unexpectedly she let him.

"No, it's not. Roberts...I've no idea SHIELD was present there." Natasha said. "They are not going to prison him, right?"

"Fury stayed talking to him when I left. I will do whatever necessary to help him..." He said looking sweetly at her.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Listen, what happened made me realize something," Natasha listened to him attentively. "I know this wasn't easy for neither of us and I was really unfair with you. But I felt so angry until I shot Komarov. I realize that it wasn't you who I was angry at but him for everything he did, for hurting you..." Clint said. "I don't know what I would have done if he had killed you. I love you." He finally said and not like last time but straight looking at her eyes.

"Clint, I can't give you anything. I don't want to suffer this again and you deserve to have a family. I see you with Hana, how amazing you are with her and she's not even your daughter and I...I can't take that away from you. And you're going to regret it the rest of your life." (Hana was the daughter of a guy Barton met in Middle East, the man was working for terrorists and he asked Clint to save his family, wife and daughter, and take them to America in exchange of silence. Clint did it at first to save his cover but soon, he started to care a lot for the little child of only months and became a very good friend to her mother. Hana even called him 'uncle'.)

"Hey, look at me." He said raising her head gently. "You're not taking anything from me. You're giving me everything I need. I'm not going to regret being with you ever. I don't need a child to love you." Clint tried to convince her.

"Really? How would you feel if you were the one not able to be a father?"

"Ok, you're right, I would feel the same as you but I promise that if someday you get pregnant I'll do everything in my power to protect you and the baby. I know Stark offered to give you the best he can to make a child survive. I'm not going to pressure you. If you are with child I'll be very excited just as if we don't have one, I'll still be the happiest man 'cause I'll have you and that is enough." He said. Natasha was about to cry with Clint's words and she couldn't stop thinking how lucky she was for having Clint, for having met him.

"Yes, but what about SHIELD and..." Clint quietened her just as she was about to create more excuses. He pressed his lips against hers for just a few seconds. He stayed sat on the bed close to her and back off while Natasha opened her eyes slowly. "I love you." It was the only thing he said.

"I love you." Natasha replied and they kissed again for much longer.

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An hour and a half later, Anastasia didn't know what was happening: she couldn't hear voices inside the room. Not that she was on the other of the door with her ear on it to hear them. So she opened the door slowly and found probably the sweetest thing. Natasha was asleep surrounded by Clint's arms who raised his sight at Anastasia. They smiled at each other and Anastasia blinked at Clint before closing the door to leave them alone.

**Aww!, that was so cute and fun to write. I have to say, that I wrote Bobbi before watching Agents of Shield this week. I waited to confirm about her personality. I don't know you, but I loved her in AoS, she's pretty awesome.**

**So with this I conclude this story, thank you to everyone who read it, who followed, favorite and reviewed. You guys are awesome. It feels really good when you finish a project. **

**Next on the agenda, I'm going to continue writing my other story "Eternal flame", if anyone is reading that one. I know I've left it abandoned for a long time. If you haven't read it, I tell you, it's about Clint and Natasha's story and the rest of the Avengers based on How I Met Your Mother, if there is someone interested, I'm going to focus on that one. **

**Well, well, so this is it. One last time, I'm going to ask you for reviews. Thank you. :D**


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